


The Recovery

by Mel_Void_Num



Series: Joeys Consequences AU [2]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: AU, Gonna put tags later, Other, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2019-11-26 02:35:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18174692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mel_Void_Num/pseuds/Mel_Void_Num
Summary: (AU) [[sequel of The Climb]]Now that Henry and co. are out of the studio they make their way to Henry's home where people have been searching for him ever since he disappeared, especially his daughter. Having to manage that along with the police, concerned neighbors and his job as an art teacher to top that off. How is he going to hide the group of former employees, a toon, and his new appearance?





	1. Chapter one

Henry, Bendy, Allison, Tom, Sammy, Susie, Norman, and Bertrum stared at the now broken down exit door in awe before being taken into a bright light. At first there was screaming as they plunged into a blank, dark void, it faded to what felt like floating, then it felt as if they were falling. Henry abruptly felt a cold tile floor on his face. He felt exhausted as he was waking up on the floor of the kitchen in Joey's apartment, he sluggishly looked around and found the group in a similar state. All of the former studio employees still had the changes in their appearance caused from the ink, including Henry himself.

The scythe he used was still in his hand and used it as support when he stood up. He looked to the back door they were all thrown out of, there was a now shrinking swirling portal of ink with light pouring out of it. After a moment or two it disappeared leaving no trace behind, at this point Henry snapped out of his drowsy state, looked at his scythe, then to the apartment, back to his weapon and smiled. Everyone else woke up by the sound of Henry absolutely trashing Joey's apartment. He broke a lot of the furniture, broken in parts of the floor, and a few kitchen appliances, he even chucked a toaster with so much force it broken apart upon impact with a wall leaving a large dent in it. Norman then narrowly avoided a vase hitting him in the face, dodging it in time and it crashing into a shelf behind him.

“The hell are you doin’ Henry!” Norman said, watching Henry run around.

“Have you finally lost your mind!” Bertrum added.

“This is Drews apartment and the asshat isn’t here!” He replied with glee, as soon as Tom heard this he joined in the destruction.

It only took a few more minutes and the duo made the apartment look like a tornado ripped through it, broken dishes, holes in the walls, ripped furniture, cracked tile floor, and some missing cabinet doors in the kitchen. Henry and Tom were left sitting on the floor, panting taking a moment to catch their breath then high fiving each other, grinning wolfishly. Henry then got up, went to the front door, pulled his leg back and kicked the door down with all his might and fury, the door gave way easily.

Henry rushed out whooping as he belly flopped onto the front lawn with Tom and Bendy following close behind, it was a cool August night and the grass was still damp from the rain that came earlier in the morning. Allison soon joined in rolling in the grass, some of her missing memories flickering back to life at the sight of the outside world after god knows how long, possibly years.

Susie and Norman sat on the doorstep watching the three of them make fools of themselves as Bertrum and Sammy spotted Joey’s car still parked in the driveway, they shared a look and nodded. Bertrum put dents in the hood, Sammy jumped onto the roof and used a pipe he had picked up in the studio and shattered the windshield, Henry then joined in by slicing each of the tires with his scythe and breaking the side mirrors. Sammy went back into the apartment and came back out with a box of matches the men busted open the hood, Tom helped mess with the engine enough for it to start leaking fuel and Sammy lit a match which he gave to Henry. Everyone else stared as Henry tossed the match into the engine as far away as he could, then booked it to the backyard.

“Everyone get over here!” he shouted as the group scrambled to the backyard.

The car burst into flames then sent shrapnel everywhere, the house shielding from the flying car parts, as Bendy peeked around the corner to get a look at the destruction one of the car doors rolled past. Henry whisled, impressed by how much damage they had done, but his happiness quickly dissipated as he heard sirens in the distance.

“Shit, guess that was more than enough for the cops to be called, we need to go” Henry said motioning for everyone to go into the woods along the road.

Henry quickly retrieved his old bag that he left in the apartment when he first visited Joey, wrote and left a nice note on the kitchen counter that said ‘Suck it Joey, it's over, you can't keep me down forever, your dear “friend” Henry’ then ran to catch up with the others. After only a few minutes of walking in the dense woods along the road they heard cop cars drive by accompanied by blue and red light. Bendy covered his ears not liking the new sound while everyone else breathed a sigh of relief as they passed by except Henry who paused when he spotted someone familiar in one of the windows.

“Something wrong Henry?” Allison inquired.

“I think I just saw my daughter in one of the cars…”

“Henry, you've been homesick, trapped in an inky prison, and have barely slept, let's just get to your house first”

“Yeah...we should do that, the walk back is gonna be awhile after all since Joey put my car somewhere else”

They started walking again, crickets chirping, an occasional breeze, an other sounds from the woods quickly made everyone sleepy, they walked a bit further into the woods not too far from the road but far enough from it to not be spotted by people driving by. They piled together under a large tree and drifted off to sleep, Tom stayed up for a while keeping watch before sleep came for him too.

One by one they woke up to the sunlight shining in their face, one headcount later they were walking once again with Bendy being in Henry’s arms. The little demon was tired after needing to walk, climb, and the recent excitement of being outside for the first time. This didn’t stop him from asking questions, everyone took a turn with answering them but Henry did most of the explaining. 

A few miles later they came across a small clearing finding Henry’s truck in the middle of it with some police tape around it. Henry would’ve laughed at how lucky he was if it weren’t for two cops sitting in their patrol car parked next to the road in front of the path leading to the clearing. The path was slightly obscured by thick bushes and shrubs so Henry snuck around the area the cops could see and got a closer look at his car from behind. He had brought his old leather messenger bag with him and dug around, there was some papers, pens, a coat, beanie, and pulled out some car keys, bingo. Pulling the beanie on his head and jacket on could hide his horns, halo and wings along with shoving his tail down his pant leg just in case they spotted him he got into the car as quietly as he could. He wouldn’t have too much trouble with it, unbeknownst to him the two cops were chatting away, blasting the music on the radio since they only had to make sure no one trespassed onto the scene and thought it was boring and uneventful, how wrong they were. After Henry realized it was much easier then expected to get to the truck he tested his luck, sneaking everyone into the back and securing a tarp over them, telling them they can’t take it off until he gives it the all clear. He climbs into the front and taking a deep breath he turns his key and the engine roars to life, finally alerting the two cops.

They rushed out of their car shouting while Henry stepped on the gas, driving over shrubs and bushes.

“Sorry boys but this car is mine and I’m heading home!” Henry yelled as he zoomed down the road, the two cops not standing a chance at chasing him as he quickly disappeared down the road.

The scenery had gone from a lone road in the woods, to a countryside, to a highway. When Henry deemed the highway empty enough he reached to lower the back window letting the group know they can breathe easy for the moment. 

Susie poked her head out from under the tarp “could you drive more recklessly Henry!? You scared the daylights out of Sammy”.

The tarp was put away, Susie was hugging a nervous Sammy, Allison taking a deep breath enjoying the fresh air, Tom and Bendy leaning over the side getting wind blown in their faces, Norman in the corner with his eyes closed as he relaxed, and Bertrum was laying down grumbling about how Henry’s stupid plan worked. Henry chuckled focusing in the road once more as he turned on his radio and turned the volume up enough for the group in the back to hear. Henry’s stress melted away with the sound of music and his new friends enjoying themselves, it felt so good to be back.


	2. Chapter 2

Linda and Michael drove to the scene of Henry's recently found truck, ducking under police tape in the woods and getting to the small clearing where it was parked. It was lit by flashlights from various other police officers, it was drizzling and Linda hugged herself, she was nervous and the slight rain made her a bit chilly. Avoiding some of the officers in order to not immediately get noticed as they made their way to the car, carefully walking in the footprints from other people as to not disturb the scene. Micheal pulled a glove on and opened the door, Linda scanning the inside of the truck ever so carefully making sure not to miss a single detail.  
The inside of the car was fairly normal, except the keys were missing, a small blot of ink staining the floor on the driver side, and the letter Henry got was torn to shreds on the passenger side. Other than those odd things there was nothing else of interest, and nothing else they could find out until the investigators showed up. Michael patted Linda on the back, she was frustrated to the point of tears, Michael felt the same but kept himself composed and drove her back home where she went to be on the couch, not wanting to be near her father's room upstairs. Michael, the stout, young, tan skinned, dark haired officer stayed up the whole night, desperately trying to find more clues besides the car. He cared deeply for Linda and Henry, practically growing up alongside Linda and viewing Henry as an uncle. He needed to find him, and soon.

The sun rose and Linda was abruptly woken up by frantic banging at the door.

“Just a moment!” she shouted as she quickly got herself ready for the morning.

She opened the door to find Michael, pale and exhausted, he put his hand on her shoulder and took a deep breath.

“We got a call that Joey's place has been vandalized, his car got blown up and only half an hour ago Henry's car got taken, but that's not all” he pulled out a notepad and showed her a hastily taken note.

“There was a letter left in the kitchen” the note was what was written down on the letter which read, ‘Suck it Joey, it's over, you can't keep me down forever, your dear “friend” Henry’.

Linda didn't do anything for a moment, processing what she just heard and then hugged Michael, making him wheeze as the air was more or less squeezed out of him, he even managed to get picked up an inch or two off the ground. Michael wiggled and was released from the bear hug, catching his breath he talked once more.

“The two officers stationed at Henry's truck while the others checked out the apartment said the man who took it had a similar description to your dad, the guy shouted something about the car being his and going home. Were both gonna stay here just incase it really is Henry, I'll be in my car around the corner, okay?”

“O-okay. My god I really think it's him, I can't believe it.” she said wiping away some tears that came.

____________

They enjoyed the fresh air for a few hours then needed to put the tarp back on as the traffic had picked up, Henry took a pit stop at a roadside diner, finding his old rainboots under the passenger side seat he slipped them on over his hooves, completing his disguise. He went in ordering a large amount of food and taking it to go. He parked away from other cars and as he went to the driver seat he dropped the bag of food into the trunk, to which he received some murmured thank yous.

“Sorry you guys have to be in the back, couldn't really think of anywhere else to hide you all” he said to them.

“It's alright, plus anything is better than Bacon Soup” Allison said.

“Wow this is delicious!” Bendy said, munching on some fries.

“Good, there’s gonna be more once we get to my house” Henry replied, engine rumbling as they pulled out and drove once more.

When the sun disappeared into the horizon they had gotten to Henry’s neighborhood, he grinned at the familiar stores, library, school, and houses. He slowly pulled into his driveway but continued to the backyard and parked there, his house was a small two story ranch, with the backyard among many others along the street leading to some woods. He breathed a sigh of relief as he got out of the car and pulled away the tarp in the back, most of the passengers were groggy and slowly climbed out. The first to get out was Sammy who then helped Susie, then Allison and Norman, then finally with Thomas and Bertrum. Bendy however chose to jump from the truck right into Henry’s arms, he stumbled slightly from the sudden weight but quickly adjusted. The little Devil was absolutely ecstatic about his new surroundings and soon meeting new people, everyone else was tired though.

Henry had everyone wait by the back door, as he wasn’t sure if anyone was inside since the lights were off. He pulled an old raincoat out of the shed in the backyard, put it on Bendy, which he was almost swimming in, and pulled the hood over his head.

“Better safe than sorry, right?” Henry said, tired but cheerful.

“I can’t wait to see Linda! Am I gonna be her brother? What is she like?” The small inky creature asked, almost bouncing in Henry’s arms.

“Hold your horses, she might be asleep right now so we’ll get to know her tomorrow morning” he replied chuckling a bit as he went up the front steps and slowly opened the door.

He stepped into the mud room and narrowly avoided a plate hitting his head, Bendy buried his face in Henry’s chest. The dark room was lit up, a young woman with dirty blonde hair and green eyes with a strong build in a nightgown looked frazzled with some plates in her arms, she stood in the doorway out of the mud room which led into the rest of the house. It was Linda. Henry and Linda’s eyes met, she dropped her plates, mouth agape, hands then covering her mouth.

“D-dad?” She sobbed.

“Hey Linda” He replied, voice wavering at the end.

As soon as he finished saying those words she had barreled into him, they both held each other tight, Linda was shaking and crying into his shoulder. The squeezing caused discomfort for Bendy who still had his face in Henry’s chest.

“O-ow!” He yelped “squeezing...too...hard”

Linda quickly pulled away as Henry was wiping her tears, she gives Henry a ‘who the hell is this’ look. Bendy turns to look at Linda, the large hood obscuring most his face except his chin and mouth.

“Oooo, you must be Lindy!” He smiles brightly at her, unintentionally showing his fangs.

“What? Who? Dad, I’m calling Michael right now, you need to explain what’s going on once he’s here immediately” she said, her fear and worry for Henry turned to slight anger.

She left for the kitchen phone before Henry could get a single word out, he set Bendy down and the two went to the living room where they sat on the couch which Henry practically sunk into. Henry was worried about the others, he had made sure they were well enough hidden in the bushes near the back door but knew one of them would try and check things out eventually. Linda hung up the phone and seconds later Michael pulled into the driveway, bursting through the door and hugging Henry.  
“Hey Mikey. So...how long has it been since I’ve been gone? I kinda lost track of time” Henry asked as he patted Michael on the back, comforting him.

“A-a month and three days…” he replied wearily, he had fallen asleep in the car so he was quite drowsy.

“You need to explain why you brought that kid with you, and why you were gone” Linda interrupted leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.

Everyone turned to Bendy, who was curled up in the corner of the comfy sofa in his oversized raincoat that still had the hood up, he was sleeping peacefully, the soft cushions knocked him out easily.

“He isn’t a kid, and I rescued him” Henry said flatly getting up and kneeling in front of Bendy, he gently pulled the hood off.

“Bendy buddy I think you should introduce yourself to Linda and her friend here” he said softly as he woke him up.

Eyebrows shot up, there was a gasp from Linda, and a cautious step backwards from Michael when they finally saw Bendy. Bendy blinked, black pie cut eyes with stark white irises looking at the both of them. Linda and Michael stared in silence, Ben disliked being the center of attention, he blushed, paper white cheeks and tips of his pointed ears becoming a warm grey.

“Uh, h-hi” He stammered.

Michael waved numbly in response while Linda gave Henry a look.

“Explain. Now.” She grumbled, to which Henry sighed at the now familiar request.

“Fine, just, Michael and you sit down first” he relented.

Linda plopped onto another chair in the living room, as she sat she dragged Michael to his own seat since he was so busy staring at Bendy.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer” Bendy mumbled.

“Where were you?” she asked quietly.

“I-I...uhm, I was trapped in the old studio, or some nightmare version of it by Joey after we argued and he stabbed me, he wanted me to ‘fix’ all the horrible things he had done. He thought I would be able to solve his problems somehow, and maybe he was jealous of what I did after quitting, I’m not sure.” he fidgeted with his hands.

“Wait stabbed you?!” she shouted

“I’m alright now, still alive and glad to be home…”

“How did that old bastard manage to keep you there like that?”

“I don’t entirely know, I would never be able to explain it without sounding crazy plus I wasn't the only one that was trapped down there. I was one of the last people he needed to play out his sick fairytale” Henry grimaced.

“He changed me, he changed Bendy, and countless others against our will in order to fit our role. I fought back little by little and it paid off, I even managed to bring the more sane people along with me” he tried to smile a bit.

“Is that all of the weird stuff that’s happened or is there more” Linda said standing up and crossing her arms, she could always tell when her dad was holding something back.

“Oh toots, just take his hat n’ jacket off and you’ll see the extent of those ‘changes’ Joey did” Bendy said with a hint of bitterness.

Henry and Lindas eyes met, why didn't she notice it before? She realized there were ink stains around his face, his ears pointy, even the fangs when he was speaking, he was much taller from when she last saw him, and, wait what was with his eyes? The excitement and whirl of tears and hugs from her dad being home once more wore off, leaving her with a pit of dread in her stomach.

“Dad, let me see…” she said holding her hand out to him.

“Can I just get everyone in the house first?” he replied anxiously clearly wanting to avoid this until the last minute “they’re waiting in the back”.

Linda was surprised, she didn't really believe him, and nodded anyway, but before Henry could go into the kitchen to open the back door she grabbed his arm.

“You better not try and stall, we’re gonna have to talk about it eventually” then she let him go and followed him. She called over Michael as well and Bendy followed him, Michael had finally stopped staring at the small devil but was now glancing nervously at Henry. Henry opened the back door, part of the backyard illuminated by the lights from the kitchen.

“It's safe now guys, come on in” he said, waving.

One by one the group stepped out of their hiding spots, Allison came out first and smiled when she saw Henry in the doorway, then was soon followed by Tom, then came along the others.  
Linda and Michael were once again shocked as they funneled into the living room and kitchen, Henry turned to the two, shrugged and gave them a “told you so” look.


	3. Chapter 3

Sammy, Norman, Bertrum and Susie were attempting to teach Bendy how to play poker around the coffee table while Tom and Allison were looking at the various pictures hung on the wall in the living room. Meanwhile in the kitchen Michael was silently freaking out, Linda a little less silently while Henry was waiting patiently for them to calm down. 

“WHAT. THE. HELL” Linda ran her hand through her hair, pacing back and forth.

Henry sighed “I told you I brought some of them with me, they were former employees of the studio”.

“How long have they been there?” Michael asked finally snapping out of his daze.

“Longer than me, most of them likely being in there for years, a lot of them lost their minds.” Henry got a shiver down his spine.

“My god” Michael whispered.

“The ones here were the worst of the bunch, but I somehow managed to snap them out of it. They barely remember the terrible things they did in there, and I forgive them for it, Joey caused this after all” Henry peeked into the living room as he spoke, seeing them having fun.

“And what happened to you?” Michael asked.

Henry fell silent, slowly reaching up and pulling his beanie off revealing his shimmering half halo and pitch black horns.

“I had to go through being dropped down a hole, almost getting sacrificed, being a servant to someone that forced me to fight a friend to the death, then fighting Bendy over and over again, it was a loop, that was Joey's twisted story. Making me the ‘hero’ that plunged into danger slaying the dragon, but he was never satisfied.”

Henry took his jacket off, flapping his small wings which felt cramped after not having any room to move for so long, Linda stared at his forearms which had large scars, a stark contrast to his ink stained skin. Henry kicked off his rain boots, his hooves made a loud clopping sound as he stood on the wood floor, then pulled his long thin tail out of his pant leg. Linda grew horrified, then fury sparked in her from seeing what was done to her father, what he said was finally sinking in. Linda was shaking, shaking from anger and Henry hugged her, Michael joined in not really knowing what else to do.

“Let's just get everyone cleaned up and we’ll sort it out tomorrow, okay?” Henry said.

Linda took a deep calming breath “Okay, Im glad your home, I missed you”

“I missed you and Michael too” then they went into the living room.

Everyone got ready to crash for the night, taking turns in the showers, finding spare clothes to wear which required some holes cut here and there for extra limbs and wings, then deciding who's sleeping where. Tom, Norman and Sammy took the guest bedroom, Allison and Susie stayed with Linda in her bedroom, while Bertrum was left with staying on the couch, he was alright with it since he stated he could sleep pretty much anywhere. Bendy got to stay in Henry's room, finding that it was quite easy to make a bed with some extra blankets and pillows in an old chest he found in the attic. Michael drove home and didn't get much sleep thinking how someone managed to do such impossible things, or trying to catch and arrest them too. It was completely silent that night, almost everyone too exhausted to dream at all which is better than risking a nightmare especially considering what they saw in the studio.

It was a saturday that morning, everyone rose slowly to the smells coming from the kitchen, Sammy was one of the first to go down the stairs into the kitchen and was a bit surprised to find Henry busying himself with preparing breakfast.

“Wow, I didn't know you could cook” Sammy said.

There was quite an impressive selection of pancakes, waffles, sausages, and omelets on the dinner table, Henry was finishing the last few scrambled eggs while humming, he was in the zone so he didn't notice Sammy until he tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped sending the eggs flying into the ceiling to which Sammy chuckled, Henry scouled for a moment then turned around to the musician.

“You mind telling the others that the food is ready while I scrape the eggs off from up there?” he pointed up to the yellow splat mark.

“Yeah, might be a few minutes since we had a pretty wild night” Sammy replied, he woke Bertrum up first who was snoring quite loudly then went back up the stairs to the others.

Henry got a stool from a nearby closet and used a fork and plate to get the remains of the half finished omelet off the ceiling and into the garbage can.

He sighed, he would doodle when he was stressed but also had a habit of stress cooking, Henry was worried about what might happen to them in the future which resulted in him making a small buffet. The habit was quite useful since he would be able to make good food out of the bare minimum ingredients, he started doing it in his earlier years when he was still doing odd jobs, saving up on the house, and taking care of Linda. Nowadays it was therapeutic for him getting to make something people can enjoy no matter what situation they were in, seeing them smile when they took the first bite, plus anything at the moment was better than bacon soup. Henry was pulled out of his musings as the group started coming down, still yawning and rubbing at their eyes, then lighting up when they saw the food. Henry put the stool back and joined them, everyone ate in silence.

Bendy poked at the pancake on his plate suspiciously with a fork, he took a nibble of it then proceeded to stuff his face with a bunch of other food after practically inhaling his pancake. Tom was wolfing down his food too, albeit a bit slower compared to the little devil which Allison chuckled at. She lightly nudged Tom with her elbow, he paused then ate at a much more reasonable pace while giving her an apologetic look.

“Table manners honey” Allison told Tom.

“Since when did you become a thing?” Norman asked, back then he knew something was going on between them while they worked at the studio.

“For awhile now….I think” her memories were still foggy.

Tom nodded, he pulled out his wedding ring from a pocket in his overalls. He looked at it with a bit of sadness, since he was changed the ring couldn't fit any longer but he kept it close.

“We got married some time ago…” she fidgeted with her own ring.

Susie quietly listened, burning holes into her plate. Bertrum, Sammy, Norman, and Susie were growing concerned, just how long did they go missing? The table once more fell silent. When his plate was empty Henry rested his chin on his hand, he dozed for a moment or two then closed his eyes, they opened when there was a knock at the door. Linda and Henry looked at eachother, she wasn't expecting anyone so everyone quickly finished their food, putting the dishes away, then retreating upstairs. Henry rushed and put on his jacket, hat, boot, then stuffing his tail down his pant leg.  
Linda went and opened the door to find an exhausted Michael with some of his fellow officers standing behind him, he smiled sheepishly and waved at them.

“Heyyy Linda” he said in a fake cheery way, she could tell he was hopped up on coffee “I see Henry got up early” looking past her and seeing Henry pace nervously in the living room, he quietly sighed in relief when seeing that he had his disguise set up.

Michael glanced to the parked patrol cars, dropping the cheery facade he leaned close to her whispering “Are they hiding?”

She nodded and Michael relaxed, he waved for the officers behind him to come in. They piled into the living room as Henry went to sit on the couch, one of the officers recognised him instantly as the guy who stole the truck back in the woods.

“So you’re Henry Ross Stein? You were the guy that took your truck back yesterday, right?” He asked

“Yes, I was in a rush to get home after so long” Henry responded coolly.

“Well can you explain why you've been missing and why you vandalised Joey Drews apartment?” the officer said as he showed a picture of the letter that was left in the kitchen.


	4. Chapter 4

There was a slight grimace on Henry's face as he looked at the photo. His mind raced internally debating on what he should tell them, he thought of the real studio abandoned and condemned a little ways away from where Joey was living. When he first moved into town he didn't even realize it was nearby until he heard rumors from the neighborhood kids about it sometime later, he thought it was funny at first but now it just made him feel uneasy. It had rumors any creepy place would get, but then there are animals avoiding the place like the plague, as well as hearing strange noises behind its locked doors, there had to be something there. Henry settled on telling half-truths instead of lying, he hated lying.

Henry paused for a moment then cleared his throat “Joey Drew held me hostage in the old animation studio, I don’t entirely know why but its clear something broke in him after it closed from bankruptcy.” he gulped, not sure if they would believe him.

The officers were startled by such a claim, Linda and Michael shared a look unsure if he would be telling the whole truth.

“He locked me up in the lower levels and kept me there, It’s kind of a blur since there wasn’t any windows or anything but there were others there. Almost everything was covered in ink, there was food still down there but it was god knows how old Bacon Soup the studio produced during its heyday” He shuttered, his mind bringing up images of lost ones and him getting sick a few times from an occasional bad can of soup.

The officers were trying their best not to give away any of their shock, Henry was completely serious as he spoke.

“After I escaped I went to his apartment, he wasn’t there, probably ran because he knew he’s pretty much fucked, plus, he knew I would kick his ass” Henry growled.

“Why did you go to his apartment in the first place?” An officer asked, he was clearly uncomfortable, fidgety, probably a recruit. 

“Partially because my stuff and car was still there, partially because...well...you saw how I left the place” He responded, wearily.

“Thank you, Mr. Stein, for telling us this, well be sure to launch an investigation. We’ll be back tomorrow and bring you to the station for further questioning” Michael said, having to remind himself to stay professional in front of his fellow officers. They stood there for a moment, the recruit frantically writing down Henry’s claims, then were shooed out by Linda, she smiled softly at Michael, grateful for having them leave, she closed the door.

Linda let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding.

“All clear, you can come down now” she said

It didn’t take long since they were listening in on the whole thing. Ben came first, jumping down each step, not entirely aware of how serious the situation was. Susie was pale, Bertrum was fidgeting with his extra arms, Sammy was avoiding eye contact with everyone, Norman looked saddened, Tom and Allison were holding one another's hands reassuringly.

“What are we going to do?” Susie said “We can’t stay here forever, what about our families” she was fidgeting with her hair nervously.

“I…If” Henry paused, trying to figure out how to respond. “If any of you still remember any phone numbers we could make a few calls”

Susie nodded eagerly, Tom and Allison looked hopeful.

“How are we gonna see them again, if they’re even still around? We can't exactly show ourselves like this” Sammy was looking at the ground, staring at his hooves.

Henry put his hand on Sammy's shoulder, causing him to look up.

“I’m sure we can figure something out, I'll be right back” Henry said, then left for the phone in the kitchen.

Henry picked the phone up, thinking back to one of the letters in Joey’s apartment with a phone number next to it, he dialed the number. After a moment or two of ringing the phone was picked up.

“Hello?” a voice with a familiar Brooklyn accent spoke.

“Hey, this is Henry Stein, are you Wally Franks by chance?”

“Yes, wait why are you calling me?”

“Has Joey Drew ever tried inviting you to his place?”

“Uh, yes, but it’s a pretty long trip there so I’m not planning to”

Henry sighed in relief “okay good. He's currently being investigated by police, avoid him like the plague if he tries to contact you again”

Wally was confused “wait for what? How do you even know Mr. Drew?”

“You don’t remember me? You used to crack jokes to try and get me to smile when deadlines started getting close, heck you were the one that picked me up when I passed out once”

“OH! Oh god, it’s been so long! How’s the Mrs?”

“She’s...gone, she passed away a long while ago”

“Oh….sorry for asking”

“It's alright. Wally, please stay away from Joey. I made the mistake of visiting him and I went missing for a month straight, and…” He stopped, knowing that he would spill everything if he kept talking.

“And?”

“A lot of bad stuff happened, to me and others, you dodged a bullet by not coming over”

Linda called out from the living room “Dad, Tom remembers where he and Allison live!”

“Alright honey” Henry responded while covering the receiver, he then took it off. “I have to go, nice talking to you again Franks”

“You too, uh, goodbye” Wally hung up. He stared at the phone for a moment, suspicions rising as he thought over what Henry had told him.

Henry hung up as well, coming back to the group in the living room.

“So you remember the address?” He asked Tom, to which the wolfman nodded.

“Good, how far out is it from here?”

Tom signed ‘from what I remember it takes about a good chunk of the day to get there since it's out in the countryside, maybe we could wait a bit. We still need to adjust to everything’

Henry nodded in agreement “hm, might need to pack some stuff for the trip. But you’re right, we need to wait” he sat down in a nearby chair.

 

“What do you guys want to do?” He asked.

“Oooh! I know! How about these” Ben said gleefully, he was bored so he did some digging in a chest and pulled out a board game and a deck of cards

“Alright then, who is in the mood for some go fish?” Norman said


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“C-can I call someone first?” Susie asked

“Oh course, no one's stopping you” Henry replied as he started sorting the cards for the others.

Susie left for the kitchen as everyone else was sitting on the floor teaching Bendy how to play go fish. She hesitantly picked up the phone and dialed the one phone number she knew by heart, her moms. The ringing felt like it went on in forever until it was picked up, silence on the other end.

“Hello? Who is this?”

“Mama, it’s me” she started tearing up, she was already missing her “It's me Susie”.

Silence was the reply until a shaky voice whispered.

“Sweetheart? Is...oh god my baby”

“Mama I've missed you so much, it's been so long”

“Where have you been all these years? Where did you go?”

“I...I-I...” She started to cry “I shouldn't have trusted Joey. I never should have taken that job”

“Where are you now sweetheart, I need to see you again please” Susie’s mother begged.

“I can’t let you see me, Mama, I’m a monster, I-I can’t, not now”

“Susie...what happened”

“I’ll tell you, I promise. I miss you so much and I’ll call you again soon, goodbye” She hung up the phone quickly, cutting off her mother who was about to respond.

Susie sunk to the floor, covering her face while taking deep breaths and wiping away her tears. She stayed like that for a bit, letting what happened sink in. After awhile she stood back up, still sniffling she went back to sitting with the others in the living room. 

\----------------

Henry had fallen asleep on the couch, Bertrum was watching TV, Linda and Sammy were playing cards with Bendy, and Allison and Tom were hanging out in the backyard with Norman, the backyard had a high fence so they were safe from any prying eyes. Susie, still having puffy eyes from crying earlier quietly sat with Linda and Sammy.

“You mind if I join you?” Susie asked.

Linda had been feeling a bit awkward from being surrounded by her dads old coworkers who she barely knew, especially when one of them very obviously looked like they had cried moments before. 

Despite this feeling she replied “uhm...sure, here” she handed her some cards.

Susie quietly thanked her, soon joining in their game of go fish.

Some time passed, the urge to ask everyone questions started to build up in Linda, she glanced at the others playing with her, Bendy being the most intriguing out of them all. 

Bendy noticed her glances “You okay Linda?”

Linda was pulled out of her musing at his question “huh? Oh...yeah, sorry. Its just….”

“Just what?”

“Well...you’re Bendy right? Then why do you look different from the cartoons?….what are you?”

Bendy was caught off guard by the question, he felt a bit hurt but he understood why she would ask.

“I...don’t really know, I know I’m definitely not a cartoon anymore” He mumbled, looking down at his gloves. “People say that I am a lot of things, like a toon, a demon, an...animal...” He quieted down, putting down his cards.

“An abomination…” He mumbled, a small amount of ink dripping down his face.

Susie and Sammy looked uncomfortable with the sudden shift in the small demons demeanor and what he was implying.

Linda, internally berating herself for even asking the question quickly got a tissue to wipe up the ink.

“I’m sorry about asking” she said, reminding herself to question Henry later on what exactly happened while in the studio. She knew Henry not telling her much of what had occurred during that month was his way of protecting her, but Linda isnt a child, she wanted to know everything. She was frankly upset with her dad beating around the bush after he scared her half to death by going missing, but for now she’ll just bide her time. Linda had decided not to go asking the new guests about this after Bendys reaction.

“How about I pour you a glass of lemonade” she asked the small demon, wanting to change the subject.

His eyes lit up at the prospect of trying something new “Sure!”

Linda got up, going into the kitchen with Bendy following close behind. Bendy hopped onto and sat on the counter as Linda was getting a pitcher of Lemonade out of the fridge.

“Hey Linda?”

“Yeah?”

“How long are me and the others going to stay here?”

“Not sure, hopefully we can call some of their families or see if we can find them a place to live, having over six people here can get kinda cramped”

Bendys tail swished in thought “Well I want to stay here. You and Henry are nice and this place is great!”  
“Well thank you” Linda poured some Lemonade into a glass and handed it to Bendy.

Bendy gladly accepted the drink, taking a sip “Wait, since Henry created me does that mean your my sister?”

Linda, caught off guard by the question paused as she was putting the pitcher back into the fridge “I...wait, my dad made you?”

He shrugged “Well, I think so, my noggin feels all fuzzy when I try and think back to it so I'm not entirely sure” He finished his glass of lemonade.

“My dad made the Bendy cartoons, so...I guess so”

“Yeah! Plus Henry is way better compared to….him” His smile dropped at the last word.

“Oh, do you mean Joey?”

Bendy answered by flinching at the mention of his name, he fidgeted with his gloves. 

Linda, once more silently berating herself, pat the spot between Bendys horns.

“Im sorry, I won’t ask about it again if it makes you this uncomfortable”

Bendy just nodded and Linda sighed, she got a cookie from a nearby jar, offering it to him as an apology. Bendy devoured the cookie, apology silently accepted.

“Let’s go back to playing go fish buddy” Linda helped Bendy off the counter and they both went back to Sammy and Susie.

\-----------------

Little did anyone know, back in Joey Drews apartment….something was stirring, bubbling, thought to be gone but very much alive.

\-----------------

Sammy saw Linda walk off with the small demon, his ears twitched in thought as he realised he was thinking the same question, what was Bendy? Linda was right about him not looking like the cartoons, he had fangs, those hooves, no bow tie, even a short tail, his proportions were more akin to a child then a toon. Sammy also found his eyes unsettling, sure they were piecut but those off white pupils were strange like it was his soul shining through, did he even have one? His musinging had also brought his mind to another strange thing about Bendy which was that he had human traits, he had a neck, a small button nose, pointed ears, his voice sounded strangely familiar but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He quickly shook his head, derailing the train of thought just as Linda and a content Bendy came back.

After only a few moments Sammy, Susie, Linda, and Ben were back to the cards. Henry had woken from his nap, and went upstairs. Sammy watched, contemplating if he should go and tell him his observations about bendy but decided to put it off for later, Bendy frowned a bit at Henry’s quick retreat to the second floor. Linda just sighed, she had seen the look on Henry’s face, it was a look she had seen more than a few times before whenever he thought back to his more dark memories or when he had a bad dream.

Bendy turned to Linda, concerned. “Is he okay?”

Linda, wary that her dad was put in an off mood so soon responded “Hes probably in his workroom, he...really must've gone through hell in the studio”

Bendys tail wagged, curiosity peaked “Workroom?”

She pointed towards the stairs “The door next to his bedroom, thats where he does all his artwork. He should probably be left alone for a bit”

Bendy ignored the last part of Linda’s words, the game of cards abandoned as he hopped up the stairs, quickly finding the room he peeked inside. The room had a cozy atmosphere, pictures of various drawings and old photos hung on the walls, a single window lit the place up, a rug with some paint and ink stains on the floor. Henry seemed to be looking for something, first quickly scanning a shelf, it had some boxes of art supplies with a few small pieces of Bendy merchandise. Then going and digging through some drawers below it, various types of paper and sketch books inside, he plucked a small sketchbook out, getting a pencil from the shelf and sitting down on a cushiony chair in the corner starting to draw. Bendy tired to step inside quietly but the door betrayed him, creaking loudly when pushed.

Henry jumped from the sudden noise, he didn’t like the scare, sounding angry he spoke “Wha- oh… hey Bendy” the angry tone quickly dying when he saw Bendy standing in the doorway, he had a deer in the headlights look.

Henry sighed, rubbing his eyes “What do you want kiddo, Im kinda busy right now” the old animator looked exhausted despite the nap he had moments before.

“N-nothing, you just looked upset is all. I just wanted to check to see if you’re alright” Bendy looked around, spotting a desk in another corner of the room, it resembled the drawing desks back in the studio. 

“I’m fine” he mumbled, he sounded like his patience was suddenly wearing thin.

Ben frowned at Henry’s tone, furrowing his brow as he explored the new room, albeit small room. 

“What’s got your tail twisted in a bunch” he joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Henry glanced at his own tail which was swishing lazily, as if the joke suddenly reminded him of the existence of his new limb. He gave the tail a weary look, subtly shivering as he picked it up and held it in his hand. He then put it behind him, keeping it in place and out of his field of vision by sandwiching it between his wings and the back of the chair.

“Nothing that you should be concerned about” he said bitterly

Bendy stayed silent, puzzled by the sudden change in mood from him.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is shorter then expected. I’ve been in a writing slump and have only recently tried getting myself out of it

There was a long silence as Bendy rummaged through the small room, Henry seemed fine with it since he didn’t comment. The lack of chatter made hearing the scratching of Henry’s pencil against paper more prominent, this had steadily taken the small devils attention once he had finished snooping around the room.

“Whatya drawin’?” He asked.

Henry didn’t respond, too preoccupied with working on said drawing. Bendy slightly tilted his head to the side as he approached the old animator, then jumping onto the chair he was sitting in once close enough. Henry jumped, letting go of his tail which he was leaning against, since it was freed it was swishing side to side in irritation. The demon noticed, pointed ears lowering a smidge.

“I just wanna see what your drawing Henry” Bendy mumbles.

“It’s personal, just go back to the others….I want to be left alone for the moment” Henry replied.

Bendy managed to catch a glance at his sketchbook, he pales a tiny bit at what he saw. It was a rough sketch of what looked to be something from Henry’s time in the studio, a view from a little miracle station of an ink flooded room with a bright light, the projectionist, trudging through the ink.

“Go...now”

“O-okay…”

Bendy quickly left the room, going downstairs feeling a little disheartened by Henry’s odd behavior. Susie, Sammy and Linda were still playing the card game which was quickly put on pause when Linda noticed Bendy. The woman took note of the little demons change in demeanor and frowned, she knew why.

She then picked him up. “I think I need to tell you a bit about my dad Bendy” she spoke softly.

Bendy simply nodded and Linda took him to the backyard and sat him down on a lawn chair. The little ink demon started to wring his tail, worried he did something wrong and might be punished. Linda noticed and sighed, patting him on the head right between his horns.

“Your fine Bendy, you aren't in trouble”

“T-then what'd I do? Did I make Henry mad?”

Linda pinched the bridge of her nose, “Not at all. He just gets like this sometimes…”

“What do you mean?” he tilted his head, confused.

She pauses, trying to find the right words. “Its just...when he gets stressed or needs to vent his emotions he draws, I mean, he always draws but when he gets like this he specifically draws what is putting him in such a bad mood. I learned to give him some space when that happens, its extremely personal to him and it helps him work through certain...things. He just doesn't like people seeing it”

“Oh…Is he going to be mad at me?” he looks at the ground, feeling like he shouldn't have even gone into that room in the first place.

She gives him a small reassuring smile “You didn't know any better and now you've learned, I think he knows that and I don't think he’ll be mad at you. I’ve accidentally done it a few times myself and he’s never upset for long, he just doesn't like being very open about some of his issues with people he had only recently met”

He smiled back “Okay, when is he gonna be coming back downstairs”

“When he’s ready, usually when he has to make dinner. I’ll be taking care of that tonight though, you all have been through alot and dad just doesn't know when to take a break”

“Does he do that alot?” He inquires

“Yes, luckily he usually stops what he’s doing when I insist on him taking a break. He needs it, he started working when he raised me and hasn't stopped” Her eyes held worried look.

“Jeeze” he was surprised.

Linda sighs “Yeah, I’m worried about what might happen to him once I move out”

“Well he’s got me and the others now, and...and I want to help him get better”

She pauses, then hugs the devil darling “...I’m glad dad’s got other people to help him. Especially after what happened...thank you”

Bendy quietly hugged back. “...You’re welcome?”

Linda picked him up again and went back into the house, feeling a bit more at ease. However, the card game with Sammy and Susie became increasingly more tense, waiting for the questions towards one another to start but neither wanting to intrude. Norman walked in and sat with them.

“Need another player?” He asked.

“Yeah, Linda kept leaving to take care of things” Sammy responded.

“Sort of expected with all of us here cooped up in the house” Norman responded as he grabbed some cards for himself, “so what are we playing?”.

“Go fish” Susie muttered, discontent with just sitting around doing nothing.

The projectionist wasn't surprised since he witnessed Bendy convincing them to play the game earlier. “Huh...alright then. Got any fours?”

“Go fish” the voice actress replied.

________________________

After some time Henry finally came back downstairs, a bit better but still looked drained. Bendy ran up to him and hugged him, or at least tried, winding up hugging his leg instead. Henry picked him up and gave him a proper hug.

“Sorry for what happened earlier, I just wanted a break from everyone” Henry apologized.

“Its okay…” the small demon didn’t want to pry more about what Linda had told him.

“Im glad” He set him down and was about to ask Linda something when Allison came in from the backyard.

“Do you think we could go to the farmhouse now? I think it might be better to head out there since we’re such a big group” Allison asked.

Henry paused, thinking for a moment, then nodded.  
“Having you stay here is a risk so we might as well. I have the truck still parked at the side of the house so I’m sure me and Linda can help you and the others get there without anyone seeing”

Tom had walked up to Allison soon after just as Henry spoke and sighed in relief.

‘I can’t wait to go home’ Tom signed, ‘its been too long’.

“Its been years, don’t expect a pristine house waiting for you two” Sammy piped in, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Tom growled softly, ‘better then nothing’.

“Okay, I’ll get the coats and hats, no fighting while I’m getting them” Linda interjected.

Sammy and Tom fell silent, then Linda quietly nodded to Henry who got his disguise on and went out to get the truck ready. Bendy sat on the couch as he watched everyone attempt to cover their inky features. Like Henry, Allison wore a coat and hat, Sammy somehow found a ushanka that barely managed to fit over his horns and some baggy pants paired with rainboots to hide his digitigrade legs. Norman was given some sunglasses and a hat, Bertrum was given a trenchcoat due to the six arms, and since Tom couldn't hide his dog man appearance he simply wore a long hooded raincoat. Once it was all said and done Linda got a blanket and scooped up Bendy, wrapping him in it.

“ hey! Whatya doin’, I’m no baby that needs to be swattled” Bendy grumbled.

“Well we’re out of spare clothes so too bad” Linda replied, snickering a bit at the sight of the grumpy demon wrapped like a burrito.


	7. Chapter 7

The car ride was long and uneventful, with everyone being crammed into the car, some of them wise enough to get a tarp and just hang out in the truck bed. After some discussion and a few wrong turns they finally pulled up to an old house in the middle of a field filled nowhere, what was left of the farm Tom and Allison had talked about was gone and plants left overgrown. The house itself seemed relatively fine, a few cracked windows, plants growing up its walls, but fixable. The barn and windmill a little ways away however was worse for wear, the barn had part of its roof caved in and some holes here and there in the walls, the windmill was slightly bent to the side, this place certainly was a fixer upper.

Tom looked relieved just by seeing the place still standing, Allison looked...disappointed. Aside from parts of her history with Tom, Allison's memories were still shaky. But, she remembered a fuzzy warm flicker of a cozy home and the smells of a good dinner which certainly did not match up with what she was seeing now. Tom, memories intact, knew not many people would come by with the houses long winding driveway, so he took off his coat and stepped out of the truck, silently accessing the repairs needed for his old home as he walked up to the front door. Allison followed close behind, her feelings mixed by the familiar and unfamiliar place as she clutched Toms hand for comfort. Henry quickly unloaded everyone in the truck and Bendy took off running, eager to go exploring in the neighboring field and barn. That was quickly put on pause when Henry chased after him and scooped him up and shook his head no.

“Bendy, you just can’t run off like that! You could get hurt or lost” he scolded Bendy, as if he were a small child, which is what he was pretty much acting like.

Bendy whined “But I wanna run arroouunnddd” he squirmed in Henrys grip.

“Fine fine, just don’t go out of our sight, got it?” the old animator relented, he was tired and wasn't really in the mood for arguing.

Bendy nodded and he was put down, then ran around in big circles in the front overgrown yard of the house, Henry sighed. Bertrum and Norman quietly chuckled, Bertrum nudged Henry's shoulder.

“Hm?”

“Is that thing your son now or something?” Bertrum joked, chuckling “You’re already trying to scold him”

“Oh...heh” the animator gave a small sheepish smile, not wanting to outright admit it that, well, yes, he had already mentally went through the adoption papers.  
“nah, but he certainly needs someone to look after him. God knows what kind of trouble he would get into, plus, you guys don’t really have much and I don’t want to dump that little guy on any of you” 

“Yeah…” Norman chimed in.

The three men watched the small demon be an energetic child as Allison and Tom were trying to open the front door. Allison tried opening the paint chipped door but found it locked, she looked to Tom for assistance.

“Should you just do your thing and punch it?” she suggested.

Tom shook his head, he didn't want to damage it and he scratched his chin in thought. He remembered there being a key somewhere hidden incase they were locked out, how convenient. After a short time of looking under some rocks he quickly found it, smiling a bit as he unlocked and opened the door which creaked loudly. 

They were met with musty old smell, dark and coated in cobwebs, it wasn't great but they could work with this. Allison held Toms hand as they walked through the house, taking a walk through memory lane at the same time. Allison looked at the photos scattered about the house, their wedding day, them getting the house, visiting family, and it clicked, her memories flooding back. 

Allison hugged Tom tightly, overwhelmed “I can’t believe I forgot so much, its all coming back to me” her voice wavered.

Tom hugged back, his tail wagging, he wanted to say so many things to her but all that came out was overjoyed whines. Allison grabbed Toms face and she peppered kisses all over his snout.

 

“I love you Tom” happy tears sprung from her eyes “I’m so glad you stayed by my side for so long.''

Tom, not knowing how to reply in a meaningful way just nodded fast and tried kissing her, instead he just wound up pressing his nose on her cheek still whining happily, he was a big ol lovestruck puppy. Allison laughed and went back to peppering kisses, happy and content, no longer having the constant feeling of missing something important lingering in the back of her mind.   
______________

Meanwhile, Susie and Sammy stayed near the truck waiting patiently, they didn’t want to go look around that much. Susie quietly fidgeted with her hair and shivered, feeling cold even when she still had her jacket on. Sammy spared a glance at her as they sat on the open truck bed in awkward silence. Susie looked a bit sickly and tired to say the least, no makeup to cover it up and bags under her eyes with the soft light of her halo casting subtle shadows on her face. Sammy tried his best not to look at the “bad” side of her face, the light left the grey tinted wrinkled skin and empty eye socket with strange shadows. The musician was left with a sting of guilt and pity when he thinks back to the studio before the ink corrupted them, he looked away and luckily Susie didn't seem to notice. Sammy couldn't bare the silence anymore.

“Im sorry...” he said quietly.

“For what?” Susie didn't look at him.

“For...everything…” he sighed, feeling uncomfortable “Joey had explicit orders to notify everyone but you about the change”.

Susie scoffed, “asshole” she mumbled under her breath.

“Agreed” the musician murmured.

“Why did you even tolerate him?” she looked at him incredulously.

“Says the person who went to dinner with him once” he replied dryly.

Susie glared and Sammy sighed again.

“Look, whats done is done, we all made stupid mistakes and we cant change them”

“So was worshipping a demon and trying to sacrifice people a stupid mistake?” Susie said, mimicking Sammy’s dry tone.

Sammy grit his teeth, “You and Norman know better than anyone how badly the ink affected us Miss Alice Angel”

Susie winced the tiniest bit at the remark and crossed her arms, “.....you know...you used to be nice to me, before the rumors of you drinking ink started”.

Sammy went silent for a minute or two, a small frown forming on his face, “things changed Susie, you know we can’t go back to that now…”

“I know...but I can’t help but think about things maybe going differently…” the former voice actress fidgeted with a stand of her hair.


End file.
